Bathing suit



W. D. IDE

BATHING SUIT Filed Deo. 1Q, 1952 ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 26, 1935 UNITED STATES BATHING SUIT Walter D. Ide,

Piqua; Ohio, assigner to The Piqua Hosiery Company, Inc., Piqua, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application December 10, 1932, Serial No. 646,595

1 Claim.

This invention relates to bathing suits for men and is concerned more particularly with a novel two-piece bathing suit consisting of trunks and a shirt connected together for normal use but readily detachable so that the wearer may conveniently remove the shirt on the beach when he wishes to enjoy a sun bath. The invention also comprehends a novel bathing suit shirt which can be put on and taken olf much more easily than shirts as now made.

Bathing suits of the two-piece variety have heretofore commonly consisted of trunks and a shirt which are entirely separate from one another, and, in order that the shirt may be retained in position, it has a continuous portion at the lower end entirely enclosing the body and extending down below the waistline so that its lower end may be received within the top of the trunks and not easily dislodged therefrom. With this arrangement, there are two thicknesses of material enclosing the body at and below the waist and this causes discomfort to the wearer, since the trunks are usually held in place snugly by a belt and after the suit has been worn for a time, the lower end of the shirt is likely to stretch so that it is bunched together within the top of the trunk by the belt.

A further objectionable feature of such suits is that the shirt, being continuous at the waistline so as to enclose the body of the wearer, can be put on only by being passed completely over the head. This is a somewhat difficult and unpleasant operation under any circumstances and especially so when the shirt is wet. As it has now become the fashion to remove the shirt on the beach, the difficulty of putting on and taking orf a wet shirt of the construction heretofore used has become increasingly objectionable.

The present invention is directed to the provision of a two-piece bathing suit which can be worn with complete comfort and which includes a shirt of novel construction which can be easily and quickly put on and taken off. The suit in cludes trunks held in place by `a belt which passes through belt loops and a shirt which consists of a front having an extension at its lower end which is received within the top of the trunks. The front part of the shirt is provided with lateral extensions under the arms and top extensions which overlie the shoulders, the several extensions being connected together by straps so that the front of the shirt may cover the front part of the body of the wearer snugly. In order to hold the shirt in position, it is connected to the trunks by readily detachable means, and preferably the connections take the form of belt loops on the extension which pass through corresponding openings in the trunks. If desired, the loops on the shirt may be concealed by forming the openings in the trunks beneath belt loops thereon. When the shirt is worn, the belt passes through the loops on the trunks and also through the loops on the shirt and thus keeps the lower end of the shirt in place within the top of the trunks. Since there is no continuous portion of the shirt completely enclosing the waist, the shirt may be put on and taken on with great facility regardless of whether it is wet or dry, and there is no bunchiness at the waist.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be made to the accompanying drawing illustrating the preferred form of the new garment. In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a front view showing the suit in position on the body of the wearer;

Fig. 2. is a rear view;

Fig. 3 is a front view of the shirt alone;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view illustrating the connection between the shirt and trunks with parts broken away; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure 1.

The new bathing suit in the form illustrated, comprises trunks I0 terminating at or above the waistline and made of any suitable material, the trunks being provided with belt loops II through which belt I2 may be inserted to hold the trunks in position.

The suit also includes a shirt of novel construction and made of any suitable material, preferably knit goods. This shirt comprises a front I3 having an extension I4 at 'its lower end which is relatively narrow and extends down below the Waistline so as to be received within the top of the trunks. 'Ihe front is provided with lateral extensions I5 lying beneath the arms and connected together by a strap I6 which extends across the back of the wearer. At its upper end, the front of the shirt terminates in straps I'I overlying the shoulders of the wearer and connected to the strap IB by straps I8.

In order to secure the shirt extension to the trunks, various connecting means may be employed, but I prefer to use the belt I2 as the means for keeping the trunks in position and also maintaining the lower end of the shirt within the trunks. For this purpose, one or more belt loops I9 may be provided on the extension and the trunks may be formed with openings through which the loops I9 may be passed. Preferably the openings 2l] in the trunks are beneath and normally concealed by belt loops ll.

With the construction described, the shirt iS easily put on since the straps I6 and I8 can be held by the hand and the head slipped through the neck opening between the extensionll and straps I8, the arms then being passed through the openings between the straps I6 and I8. The extension Id is then inserted in the top of the trunks and the belt loops I9 on the extension passed through the openings in the trunks. The belt Il is next inserted through the belt loops on the trunks and through the belt loops I9 on the shirt, as illustrated in Fig. 5.Y The belt thus serves the double purpose of holding the trunks in place andkeeping the extension on the shirt from being pulled out of the trunks. Preferably, there are two belt loops in that part of the trunks behind which the extension lies and two belt loops on the extension. The belt buckle may then lie between the loops on the extension, and when the shirt is to be removed, it is only necessary to slip each end of the belt out of one loop, whereupon the extension may be freely pulled out of the trunks.

The new shirt is not only easily put on and taken off but when worn, it exposes much greater areas of the body than are exposed by shirts as heretofore made which are continuous about the waist. Only relatively narrow straps overlie the back of the wearer and practically his entire waistline is exposed except for the narrow portion in the front covered by the extension.

A bathing suit comprising a pair of trunks and a shirt having its lower end extending below and receivable within the upper edge of the trunks, said shirt consisting of a front portion of less width than the body of the wearer for the greatest part of its length, said front por tion having its greatest width at a point which will lie in a horizontal plane just beneath the arms of the wearer, the sides of the shirt converging both above and below said point of greatest width, a continuous narrow strip extending substantially horizontally across the back and l.

secured at its ends to the front portion at itsl point of greatest width, the upper ends of the front of the shirt portion terminating in shoulder extensions and a pair of connecting straps each attached at one end to one of said shoulder 2 extensions and at the other end to the horizontally-extending back strap at substantially the center, and means spaced at each side of a median line and adjacent the sides of the lower` end of the shirt front portion for securing the 2 front portion oi said shirt portion only to the` trunks, said spaced securing means being substantially in Vertical alignment with the spaced. upward extensions of the shirt portion.

WALTER D. IDE. 

